Sport utility vehicles have gained widespread popularity in recent years. Generally, these vehicles have a box-shaped cab section and include various features such as four wheel drive and heavy-duty suspensions which allow them to be used in most environments including the off-road environment. Vehicles of this type are therefore particularly well suited for transporting its occupants to remote and possibly difficult to reach outdoor locales for participation in outdoor sports. Examples of such outdoor sports include skiing and snowboarding, canoeing, bicycling, fishing, and camping.
Many of these sports require specialized equipment for their participation. Bicycling requires the bicycles, fishing requires the fishing poles, canoeing requires the canoe, skiing or snowboarding requires the skis, poles or the snowboard, and camping requires the tent. These specialized equipments must be carried along with the user to the remote outdoor locale, and because of the size and shape of the equipment, they most effectively are carried outside the vehicle on roof-mounted racks.
To some extent, the manufacturers of these vehicles have anticipated this need by providing many of these vehicles with generalized racks or load carriers. In basic form, the roof rack comprises a pair of spaced parallel rails or load bars, fixedly attached to the roof and aligned parallel to the centerline of the roof or transversely to it. The rails are elevated a slight distance from the roof surface, generally three to five inches. The ends of the rails have end brackets which attach to the roof by sheet metal screws or the like and hold the rails at the predetermined height. In a common configuration, the brackets for the two transverse rails are adjustably mounted in fixed linear tracks along each side edge of the roof, providing the user with the capability of setting the spacing between the two rails. Also, aftermarket versions of these generalized or multipurpose roof racks are provided that are installable and removable from the vehicle and may include end brackets that screwlock in the vehicle's roof gutters or clamp into the top of the side door openings.
As convenient as these generalized load carriers are, they do not include features for securely holding particular types of sports equipment. The user most often must purchase a dedicated roof rack, which includes features particularized for effectively accommodating one type of sports equipment. A rack for holding skis, for example, includes multiple slots which accept individual pairs of skis and/or pairs of ski poles, plus a securing bar which locks down the skis and poles so they will not be jarred lose by vibrations due to the vehicle motion. In addition, there may be a security lock feature to prevent the skis from being stolen when the vehicle is left unattended by its owner. As another example, a roof-mounted upright carrier for bicycles includes a wheel tray having a linear groove into which the bicycle tires are inserted, wheel straps for securely holding the wheels in the carrier during transport, and a holder to keep the bicycle frame in an upright position. Other dedicated equipment racks include similar specialized features and operations for the particular application.
The equipment is often loaded onto or unloaded off of the dedicated equipment rack a number of times consistent with the use of the equipment it carries. For example, a daylong ski trip will require that a ski rack be initially loaded at the user's home and unloaded at the ski area; at the conclusion of the skiing, the ski rack will be loaded at the ski area and then finally unloaded at the user's home. The repetitive loading and unloading of the dedicated equipment rack serves to multiply the problems inherent in its use.
Most vehicles in the sports utility category as described herein have a nominal height range from ground to roof of 65 inches to 75 inches. Some vehicles, such as the Ford Bronco, manufactured by Ford Motor Company of Detroit, Mich. have an advertised nominal roof height of 79.1 inches. As another example, the Chevrolet Suburban, manufactured by Chevrolet Motor Company of Detroit, Mich. has an advertised nominal roof height of 76.4 inches. From these examples, it is clear that the height of these vehicles and others within this category are for most users above the height of their shoulders or in many cases above the height of their heads. Furthermore, the roof width for vehicles of this type is generally within the range of 60 inches to 70 inches, making most of the roof area including the centerline or middle of the roof beyond the distance which the average user can reach, even when the user is elevated.
For a user to load or unload one of the dedicated equipment racks discussed here above it is often necessary for the user to reach over to access those portions of the rack near the centerline of the roof. In accomplishing this action, the most users must stretch and lean against the vehicle. Besides being physically difficult to accomplish, due to the height and width of the vehicle, the clothing of the user often will often become soiled with dirt, dust, or grease from the sides and roof of the vehicle. Also, apparel worn by the user may typically include metal buckles, zippers, or buttons which may scratch the vehicle's paint. Furthermore, the equipment items placed in the dedicated rack may likewise include metal or abrasive surfaces that may scratch or mar the paint and otherwise cause damage to the vehicle if not handled with appropriate control while being secured in the dedicated rack. This unwanted result is further aggravated by the number of times the rack must be loaded and unloaded as discussed here above.
Conventionally, there are two solutions to elevating the user's height with respect to the height of the roof to improve the user's access thereto. In the first method, the user opens a side door to the cab area and stands at the edge of the open doorway while holding onto the car body with one hand to maintain stability and using the remaining arm to access the dedicated rack. The user may also stand on running board, bumper, vehicle tire, or even tailgate, depending on the structure of the particular vehicle. The first method is inherently unstable and has the drawbacks of leaning against the vehicles discussed here above as well as the danger of injury to the user due to slipping or falling. In the second method, a step ladder or stool is utilized to elevate the user's height with respect to the roof. However, the step ladder or stool must be available at the point of unloading as well as the point of loading, and this necessitates that the step ladder or stool be carried in the vehicle to the remote location. This is a drawback because oftentimes the vehicles may be filled with cargo, for example, camping equipment or vacation luggage, so that little room remains inside the vehicle to utilize for the storage of a step ladder or stool. Also, step ladder and stools are generally dangerous unless placed carefully on solid, level surfaces. However, sport utility vehicles are often unloaded in remote outdoor locations, such as ski mountains, campgrounds, and lake fronts. At these typical locations the ground surface may be non-level and unstable, often being composed of snow, loose dirt, or sand. These uneven and unstable ground surfaces increase the possibility that a stool or step ladder could slip and the user could fall and be injured while trying to unload or reload the dedicated rack. All these problems are compounded when the equipment carried is large and bulky, as in the case of transporting a canoe or small boat.
One solution to this problem has been to provide dedicated racks which carry equipment at a level below the height of the roof. There are known carrying racks for bicycles and skis that attach to the bumper or spare tire mounting bracket at the rear of a vehicle. The drawback of devices of this type is that they interfere with the opening of the rear cargo door or rear window of the vehicle it is installed upon. Also, because these devices extend far outwardly from the vehicle, they present a safety hazard to vehicles, persons, or property in close proximity to the rack.
Another bicycle carrier is known which attaches to the trailer hitch at the rear of the vehicle, under the rear bumper. Upon activation of a release lever, the bicycle rack swings down and away from the rear of the vehicle for loading the rack or opening the rear cargo door of the vehicle. However, because this device extends far from the rear of the vehicle in loading position, it presents greater hazards to vehicles, persons, and property in close proximity thereto.
Another solution to this problem is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,837 to Ruffolo, entitled Snowboard Rack. In this patent, a rack for snowboards is disclosed which mounts to any roll-up window on an automotive vehicle by means of a suction cup, bracket, and support arm arrangement. Thus, the loading and unloading of the snowboard is accomplished at a convenient height. However, the snowboard rack has the same drawbacks of restricting access to window and door to which it is attached, and it also presents a safety hazard while it is attached to the vehicle because the rack projects a distance form the vehicle's side while the vehicle is in motion. There is a known ski transport rack for vehicles which clamps to the side window of a vehicle in a similar manner to provide convenient loading and unloading but also has the same drawbacks discussed above.
Although these difficulties in loading and unloading equipment racks are inherent for vehicle types known as sports utility vehicles, the same problems exist with vans and pickup trucks having caps or removable hardtops installed over their cargo decks. Furthermore, conventional equipment racks for automobiles have the same inherent problems, though lessened because automobiles generally have a lower ground to roof height and a smaller roof width. All these vehicle classes present the same difficulty for the user in reaching toward the centerline of the roof to access all portions of a dedicated equipment rack installed thereon.
Also, although the problems discussed here above have been particularized with regard to sporting equipment types carried by sports utility vehicles, the same problems exist in the non-recreational environment. Utility vans, trucks, minivans and related vehicles carry bulky work-related items such as ladders, tools, or building materials on the roofs of the vehicles for convenience. In this situation, the user must overcome the same problems encountered when loading and unloading dedicated or multipurpose equipment racks on sports utility vehicles.
From the forgoing discussion it is clear that a need exists for an equipment rack that may be installed on the roof of a vehicle to securely transport a variety of cargo or equipment while providing features which allow the rack to be easily and conveniently loaded or unloaded while overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art discussed here above.